Why I left Costa Rica? (The Good, Bad & Ugly)

We retired in CR 2 years ago and still here. Best choice for us. We shop at our huge farmers market and support all our locals. Our foods are fresh and delicious and our costs here are much cheaper than USA. All our friends are locals and we immerse ourselves into the people culture, history and foods. We don't live in the tourist areas and and we live a simple but healthy and happy lifestyle here. We don't have drivers, maids , etc etc and we knew when moving here we didn't want to live the same as in USA. We had our residency in 89 days with our good Attorney. The lifestyles you choose here will determine the affordability. Everything for us is cheaper and that was what we wanted. We have fast speed fiber optic internet and our power rarely goes out . Location is the key and if people choose tourist area's and beach towns you will pay much more !! We won't be moving from Costa Rica because our health and lives have improved tremendously these two years. Our Autistic son lives here too with us and he loves his life here. No one should have expectations when moving abroad.

Wow. As an expat living in Costa Rica, I find this video a great example of privileged paternalism criticizing those less privileged! A household staff of six, a pool, drivers, condescending attitude toward the food and cooking of Ticos….Dude came here and wanted to teach locals how to cook? Oh please. He says he’s lived in numerous countries. But he’s also left those as well. Maybe the problem isn’t the countries….

Costa Rica is definitely not the place to move to if "friction" bothers you. I think this video is a perfect example of not doing enough good research before moving, having unrealistic expectations, and trying to live a North American lifestyle in Costa Rica. Very, very, few Ticos employ six people including drivers and cooks.

I moved to Costa Rico to GET AWAY from constant phone life, online ordering, introversion, Home bound sedentary computer diversions. I moved to Costa Rica to GET OUT of the house... go to markets, parks, hikes, meeting people, neighbor gatherings, face to face interaction, heathy local food, locally made clothes and housewares, art, music. When friction happens I bring a local friend and they walk me through the local way of removing the friction. "I like the friction" because it causes the short sighted and narrow self -obsessed expats to MOVE ALONG to another country.

Thank's God it is not for everyone, imagine if it was.

I'm costa rican and i agree with most of the things you said, specially infrastructure, but in our defence i must add that we are giving out so much in order to keep the country green, electricity for example, we have it 99% renewable and green and we also export it to the rest of central america, and also happens that CR ranks 3rd country with the most rain in the planet, so thunder, renewable energy reliability, and exporting makes us very prone to blackouts. We could just burn coal or deal with nuclear waste and live a comfortable life, but that is not sustainable and not the goal of CR. Life is pretty expensive but only if you want to, you can choose to buy a cheaper car instead of the shiny brand new one and is going to take you anywhere just as well. At the end of the day, it depends on what you are looking for, if you are trying to replicate your lifestyle here, it's doable but then is going to cost you a lot and if that is what you are looking for, then why not stay there where you have already your life style?, if you are trying to change the pace, the way of your life, then this country could be a choice. You win the game of life by being happy, and if the trade-offs of costa rica makes you happier, then it makes sense, if not, then it's probably not for you. By the things you mentioned, you probably would be happier living in Hawaii.

Thank you for taking the time to make this video. Having been only once and planning a second trip shortly, many of the things that bothered you are what are attractive to us. I found the food to be local, fresh, and bright. I found the people to be genuine. I found the connection between people and place to be refreshing. I found a much more relaxed pace. My take away from your experience is that it doesn't appear that you attempted to assimilate to the culture and expected COSTA (pronounced: kow-stah) Rica to be where you came from. I don't intend on hiring a staff of 6. (really? Your privilege is showing) I don't expect to find fruits and vegetables imported from places far away. I don't expect a gas station on every corner. I don't expect Amazon to deliver my package the next day. I don't expect people to speak English. Again, thank you for sharing your experience and I hope you enjoy the journey of your future travels. Be well.

i'm costa rican and i 100% understand how our life is not for everyone, i'm just wondering how you did not know about some of these things sooner? 💀

From Canada but I've been to Costa Rica twice now, for about 3 weeks each time. First time explored Puntarenas and decided we needed to come back, second time explored Guanacaste and looked at a bunch of property while we were there. I've been learning spanish for the past 5 years on and off and can tell you without a doubt in my mind that if you don't know Spanish you're missing out on Costa Rica's biggest plus...the people. When you make an effort it pays you back tenfold. We love the weather, I love the fishing..but the people are why we are moving there. Of course they are not all amazing, nothing's perfect, but by and large I have never in all my travels experienced such warm and inviting people.

Friction due to language??? At least have the respect to learn the language and pronounce “costa” correctly.

I think you are the problem here. You wanted a Canada in Costa Rica and when they didn’t become Canada you left. I hope that more people move out and leave more space for us.

I have lived in Costa Rica for 24 years. I love the weather, live in my jungles, ocean view, ocean breezes, monkeys, beaches. My kind of place. Life can be a pain in the ass anywhere ☺️ I think comparing San Jose to living in a jungle is kind of funny. For us nature kids it is paradise . I live in the hills of Manuel Antonio with 3 acres. A little homestead ☺️ I left a career in Silicon Valley to live my dreams . I think this is mine. I live simple and teach sustainable healthy living . My dream life. I grow my own food and medicine , build houses with my own fallen trees and bamboo. The Tarzan lifestyle is me☺️ I made kilometers of trails at my farm with a machete by myself. I love this place ☺️ I think living in a jungle is the healthiest cleanest soul healing place in the world. So I am grateful for my two jungles ❤️

Well, everybody certainly has the right to their opinion, and these reasons are why many people end up leaving Costa Rica. This is probably a good video of things not to do if you move to Costa Rica. First, there comes an acceptance that things aren't going to be the same as what you're used to back home. I hope people research that before moving anywhere. The idea that it's difficult to get things delivered to your door such as with Amazon is a small price, in my opinion, for the tradeoff of all the good things about Costa Rica. Regarding how expensive it is, sure, it can be very expensive depending on how you live. For me, I always buy Costa Rican products, shop at the marketplace, eat at sodas, etc. And avoid expensive imported products for everyday living. The food? Wow, for me, the food is some of the best in the world. Eating at sodas is extremely affordable and delicious. If it were me, I'd also avoid living in San Jose. I do speak Spanish and as another person commented, if you don't speak Spanish, you are missing out on all the wonderful people you could meet and conversations you could have. That said, I found your video very upfront and honest, and these are real reasons why some foreigners don't stay in Costa Rica.

That's interesting and living in Mexico myself I agree with many points. But 3 years and no spanish that's not very serious. You can do duolingo 15 min a day, speak with locals, take notes and revise time to time.

If you can't pronounce the name of the country right, then ask someone.

It sounds like your sense of entitlement was the real issue.

Great video, Michael! I currently live in Costa Rica, and have been here since 2015. I agree with you on almost everything, and as you mention, the infrastructure (especially around Internet and cellular) has improved exponentially in the past 2-3 years e.g. I have a very stable and fast Internet connection of 300/30 Mbps and a pretty nice 4G LTE postpaid plan with a combined cost of less than $80 /mo. The electricity does go out for 15 min to 1 hr, once or twice a month (mostly during thunderstorms), and the water supply has been pretty consistent, at least for me. Immigration is a pain and does take 2 years (or more) to get and bureaucracy is a bit over the top, but one can get used to it if one exercises patience and proper planning. Language is not that hard to learn and you'd be surprised by how much people's attitude changes toward a foreigner if they make an effort to communicate in the native language of the country they live in. And lastly, aside from the nature, air, and sunshine, the food selection here has boomed, especially after the cervesa sickness, and I personally eat Indian, Thai, German, French, Italian, American, Argentinian, Brazilian, and of course, Costa Rican food every month and the quality is amazing here now. Traffic has improved much, as they've built several wider bridges, expanded highways, and are working on the GAM (Gran Area Metropolitan) circunvalación, which is essentially a huge multi-lane freeway ring around the city, however, driving through the city of San Jose (street surface roads) and in rural areas, is still in the realm of "adventure" and requires a lot of skill and patience. Lastly, getting things from the US/Canada via Amazon or any other online store is fast and easy e.g. took me about 10 days to get a dishwasher delivered to me via air, and about 15 days for a set of Sonos speakers and a soundbar and during Christmas holidays mind you. It's worth mentioning that there's a $500 limit per every 180-day period (per person), when shipping anything here if you are looking to exonerate i.e. get stuff tax/customs free, or you can just go through the regular importation process, but you have to make sure you check the customs rates beforehand, so you are not sticker-shocked when things arrive and you are asked to pay 60% on top of the price you paid in the US + shipping costs, which can end up being literally double of the original price (not all items fall into that category though). Hope that helps! Pura vida :)

Lived here in Costa Rica for 2 years and we love it. No regrets.

You can not even pronounce Costa Rica after living there for three winters. It says a lot about the effort you made to immerse yourself in the culture.

I lived in Costa Rica for 18 year,s! I first visited in 1992! I enjoyed it about 85%, and I learned patience, and Spanish! I love visiting the Volcanoes, and beaches! The food was a drawback,except the Ceviche, and the fruit,s! I think Nicaragua is less expensive! People can,t expect Costa Rica to be Canada or the US! That should be the charm of it the differences, in a tropical culture!